DAMMERON VALLEY LANDOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.
1137 Dammeron Valley Drive East Telephone/Fax 435)574-6397
Draft
Minutes of the Monthly DVLA Board Meeting of January
29, 2013
The monthly DVLA Board Meeting was held at the Fire
House. Fifteen landowners were in
attendance.
Board Members attending: Bill King, Terry Taylor, Jim Johnson, and Mac
Thomson
Absent: Julie
Cropper
President Bill
King called the monthly board meeting of the Dammeron Valley Landowners’ Association
to order at 7:00 p.m.
1. Approval of the
agenda:
A
MOTION WAS MADE by Mac Thomson and SECONDED by Terry Taylor that the agenda be
approved. Motion carried.
2. Review &
approval of the minutes of the November 27, 2012, monthly DVLA Board meeting:
The
contact e-mail address for information about the proposed Special Service
District Dammeron Valley Fire Department and Rescue needed to be changed to
ssddvla@gmail.com.
Mac
Thomson MADE A MOTION that the minutes for the November 27, 2012, monthly DVLA
Board meeting be approved, as amended; the motion was SECONDED by Terry Taylor,
and the motion carried.
3. New Business:
a. First review of 2013-14 Proposed Budget
A special meeting of the
Dammeron Valley Landowners Association was announced for 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday
evening, February 12, 2013, to make recommendations for the proposed 2013-14
budget and begin preparations for the upcoming annual meeting in May.
b.
Architectural review of plans – Ken Mandell
Ken Mandell is requesting a six or eight-foot privacy cedar fence on his
property line that will not be seen from any road. The purpose for the fence would be to
temporarily block the view of the next door neighbors’ animals, (four dogs, 2
llamas, and five goats) until the bushes that have been planted grow large
enough to block the view. One landowner
expressed concern that many landowners have issues and eye sores with their
neighbors, but felt that a stop has to be made somewhere in approving privacy
fences. Another landowner indicated that
the variance given in November had to do with danger to the children and the
dogs involved, and was an entirely different issue. The members of the Board and Gary Jensen, who
is the head of the architectural committee, will meet Saturday, 12 noon, to
view the property for the purpose of making a decision on the request.
4.
Old Business:
a. Development of a policy for handling
landowners’ complaints
Jim Johnson presented a
modified form of a previous sheet to be considered for use by landowners in
submitting concerns to the Board members.
This sheet was passed around for viewing by those present so that any
suggestions or additions could be made concerning the form.
b. Update on complaint by Jill Petersen
regarding flooding problem
Kurt Gardner, the building inspector from Washington County, is going to
view the properties and determine any further action. When an update is received from him, it will
be reported in an upcoming board meeting.
c. Development of current collection processes
to be incorporated into association policies
The Utah HOA guidelines for homeowners’ association collections have
been adopted by the Dammeron Valley Landowners’ Association board. Once a landowner is delinquent beyond one
year, the file is turned over to an attorney for action.
d. Ongoing discussion of a Special Service
District Dammeron Valley Fire Department and Rescue – Sheri Mandell
Any
protest letters against the formation of the Special Service District Dammeron
Valley Fire Department and Rescue were to be submitted to the County
Commissioner by January 23, 2013. Sheri
was aware of only one protest letter, which was rescinded by January 23. The
next commissioner’s meeting is to be held on Tuesday, February 5, 2013, at 4:00
p.m. at the chambers located at 197 East Tabernacle in St. George. If the SSD is approved at this meeting, the
paperwork will then be submitted to the Lieutenant Governor for
consideration.
Please solicit neighbors to run or consider
running for a place on the board, if the SSD is approved. There is an application process for the
positions, but you can now submit a statement of interest to the commissioner.
On
April 16, 1913, the training, that would be attended by those members from
Dammeron Valley, is being held on budget and finances from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and
training for the board of directors from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The legality of a flat fee on properties
within the SSD has not yet been determined.
Landowners should know this determination by the end of February - if
Dammeron Valley Fire Department and Rescue becomes an SSD before then.
There
was some discussion on the feasibility of paying off the fire house loan, but
the President indicated that was an issue to be decided upon if the Special
Service District is approved.
5. Reports:
a. President’s message – Bill King
McArthur Welding is in the process of manufacturing a railing for the
back of the firehouse which will match the hand rails already in place. This railing is being installed as a safety
precaution to prevent accidents on the back walk.
We are beginning preparations for the
upcoming annual meeting. We want to make
sure
that if anyone is interested in one of the three board
vacancies that are coming up, that he/she get their application submitted to
the board. Please be aware that the next board will probably be making many
decisions concerning the SSD, and the community needs to make sure that it has
people who are committed to doing a good job and being available. The more people we get involved, the better
off we are as a community.
b.
Fire Department Report – Chief
Maciej Szczerbiak
New EMS protocols are to be proposed
on February 14, 2013. Currently not all
emergency medical crews are using the same protocols. That is to be corrected so that all procedures
will be the same. The cooperative rate
agreement and any memoranda of understanding will be considered with other
agencies once, or if, the Special Service District is passed.
Winter fire school was just completed on
January 11 and 12, 2013. Part of the
Dammeron Valley crew was trained in large animal extrication. The EMT B course at Dixie Ambulance is
currently in progress, and the state test will be given in Salt Lake City on
February 9. Originally Dammeron Valley
Fire Department was invoiced $900 per person (5 persons attending) for a total
of $4,500. This amount was negotiated
down to $750 per person, resulting in a total billing of $3,750 of which the
state will pay $3,400. To emphasize the
amount of training the crew has been receiving recently - during the month of
December, 2012, the number of training hours totaled 460 hours; last year in
December, 2011, there were zero hours of training received. Overall, fire department training in the
month of October, November, December, and January increased over three hundred
percent compared to those same months in 2011.
The 2013 training schedule for the Dammeron Valley Fire Department
includes cooperation with the SR18 fire departments of Central, Diamond Valley,
and Brookside. Medical training will be
combined with DAS and Life Flight.
Since November, 2012, the fire department
personnel have responded to 23 emergency medical calls, one motor vehicle
accident on SR18, and one structure fire.
During January the front door lock
completely broke; the bay garage door opener broke; and a key got stuck in the
dead bolt of another door. All have been
repaired.
The offer of $6,500 for the purchase of
the Brush 13-2 truck did not go through due to the vehicle not meeting the grant
specifications of the purchaser.
Currently the vehicle is being kept as a backup vehicle and is being
stored at the Diamond Valley fire station.
There is an option to advertise it for sale during the 2013 fire season
for more money - approximately $8-$9,000 at that time. Brush 13-1 is exceeding its payload capacity
by almost 4,000 pounds. Department
personnel are taking steps to reduce the vehicle weight by thinning it out and
removing the previously-installed roof rack and equipment. To date, no FEMA federal or state grants have
been found that would help pay for the search and rescue vehicle that is needed
by the department. Grants that are currently being offered cover transport-type
big box rescue vehicles. A search is continuing for available grant monies for
this purchase.
The department was awarded the License
Plate grant in the amount of $4,355. The
equipment will be delivered on January 31, and the request for reimbursement
will be submitted after that.
An
EMS equipment grant has been applied for and has been approved by the
state. This grant will cover the
purchase of a new vital signs/defibrillator at the cost of $6,995.
The inventory of the fire department
equipment and assets has been completed, with a number of areas needing
work. Sixty-five percent of the
structure PPE is expired. This expired equipment,
which is over ten years old, is used for training purposes only. The current PPE were not properly washed and
recertified, as required by law. L.N.
Curtis is going to wash, repair, and recertify structure PPE for an estimated
$37 per set of PPE. The cost of one
structure PPE replacement is $2,400. The
Chief will apply for any PPE grant available in order to implement the plan to
have all structure PPE certified for use.
Grants are being researched to update our
SCBA equipment that is expired. A single
unit replacement cost of this equipment is $6,500.
The bay radiant heating system in the fire
house needs to be replaced with a forced air unit. The current system is inefficient and a
potential fire hazard.
There are currently 21 volunteers in the
department. Travis Slater has just
joined, and a new member from Diamond Valley is to come on board next month.
c.
Financial Report – Carol Clason
Since November, 2012, several
landowners have paid off their delinquent dues, and the total still owing for
the fiscal year 2012-13 went down from $9,429.00 to $7,987.50. From the county we received the annual
recycling check for $1,111.82. They
separated that amount into recycling for paper as $644.44; for plastic as
$115.95; for metal as $469.36, and for glass as a minus $117.93. It appears we are not meeting expenses
incurred by Washington County for the glass recycling due to a low volume of
glass being collected.
d. Committee Updates:
i. Finance – Terry Taylor
Comparison between the on-line bank statements
and the financial statements submitted in tonight’s financial report indicates
that all bank account balances match the financial statements once an
outstanding check for $435.40 to State Farm for vehicle insurance was deducted
from the Wells Fargo DVLA operating account, and $80.52 credit card payment for
vehicle parts was deducted from the U.S. Bank operating fire department
account.
ii. Public Safety – Mac Thomson
A public recognition award is
being considered for outstanding service on the part of several members of the
community. A committee of landowners is
collaborating on what would be an acceptable expression of the community’s
appreciation.
The state fuels crew has agreed
to put in a fuel break to better armor the Sand Cove subdivision from fire to
the west. The fuel break would be on the
east side of the Little Knob, between Dammeron Valley and the reservoir. It is possible that they will also be helping
a landowner in Pinion Hills remove two large trees when they are able.
There is a road that runs from
Sand Cove Circle to Pacific Corp land, north parallel to the fence line and
ends up at Sand Cove Road. A walking
trail goes on further west to the Sand Cove reservoir. A fence is going to be installed parallel to
the road on the west side until it intersects with Sand Cove Road. Their permission is for ATV’s to use that
route of access to Sand Cove, rather than go by the trail across their (Pacific
Corp) property. The trail will be open
to hikers and horseback riders.
There was a lot of activity at the burn
pile last weekend with about twenty loads brought to the area. It is the intention to keep it open about
every other weekend, but it will not be open when the ground is too wet for
vehicle travel.
It was suggested that while
the weather is still less than highly flammable, a member of the community
might like to set up a neighborhood weekend cleanup where some of the weeds and
tumbleweeds can be taken off fences and out of the community. If this occurs, the burn pile would be
available for dumping, and the community would receive credit for expenses and
hours worked under the state land/fire agreement.
iii. Social/Insurance – Jim Johnson
No report
submitted.
iv. Architectural Review - Gary Jensen
Two homes have
been reviewed; one was approved, and the second will be approved upon
submission of the performance bond deposit.
A fairly large remodel was approved, and the privacy fence request was
denied by the committee.
Gary Jensen announced that his
last month as head of the architectural committee would be in June of this
year. The committee has also lost a
member who had participated for many years, so there are openings available for
anyone who is interested in those positions.
v. Public Properties – Julie
Cropper
No report submitted.
6. Comment and discussion by landowners:
After the newly-revised complaint form
had been circulated, there were no further suggestions for revision. Jim Johnson MADE A MOTION that the form be
put into service; SECONDED by Terry Taylor, and the motion carried.
7. Adjournment:
A MOTION WAS MADE by Jim Johnson and
SECONDED by Terry Taylor to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m.
Carol Clason, Recording Secretary
